Almost 200 companies cited for model benefits and policies

Compiled by the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, the list honors employers for active nondiscrimination policies; a commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inclusion; and medical insurance and other benefits for employees' domestic partners.

This year's list includes some nationally known companies — Apple, Nike, JP Morgan Chase are among them — as well as lesser-known companies such as Tech Data, Delhaize America and Medtronic. To get on the list, employers had to score 100 percent on a corporate equality index devised by the HRC.

"Generally, things have certainly gotten better for LGBT employees of all ages, including those over 50," says Paul Guequierre of the HRC, the nation's largest LGBT civil rights organization and lobbying group. But "although these findings are encouraging, a lot of work still needs to be done."

AARP Discounts

The HRC's list draws on responses to surveys sent to companies on Fortune magazine's 1,000 largest publicly traded companies, to the top 200 revenue-grossing law firms in the United States, and to private-sector, for-profit companies with at least 500 employees.

The responses are then vetted through published employment programs and, when necessary, direct verification with human resources departments. Companies that don't respond may be evaluated by the HRC based on their written policies.